As we drove on, I learned the real purpose of the trip: Lola wanted to spiritually connect with Gram Parsons. She was going to sleep in Room 8, where he died. I slept in a different room.

Once we checked in to the hotel, we read through letters other girls had written Gram, each in pursuit of the same dream. Lola wrote one longer than all who came before her.

Later that evening, Lola went to the bathroom and came out shaking. She had discovered human organs sitting on the toilet tank. After a moment of panic, Audrey revealed she had secretly bought beef kidneys at the supermarket and hidden them for us to find. It was a successful prank.

The next day we listened to the Flying Burrito Brothers and drove through the park. I took pictures of the girls at Cap Rock. As they flashed their boobs in honor of Gram, it started to rain.

This is the ninth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

JUNE 18, 2014. Rome, Italy.

AUGUST 2012. Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

SEPTEMBER 2014. New York City.

JUNE 7, 2018. Shambala.

Missed last month? View it here:

This is PHOTO ARCHIVE. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

Tippi had been a hero of mine my whole life. My mom showed me The Birds and Marnie when I was a kid. I loved The Birds. I told Tippi this. She said my mom had good taste. Undoubtedly, that exact conversation happened hundreds of times before, but it felt like she meant it. She signed a DVD of The Birds and gave it to me.

At lunch, a six foot gopher snake appeared in the grass. I got up and went for it. I’ve been catching snakes since I was four years old. The same woman yelled at me to get away from it. She said it might be poisonous. She meant venomous. It wasn’t. I could have had it in five seconds. Out of respect for Tippi, I listened, though I could tell from a silent look between us that she wished I had caught it.

Before we left, I asked for her portrait.

This is the eighth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

His family owned Sixth Street Specials, the motorcycle shop on 6th and C where we took these pictures. As adults, we got along really well.

This is the seventh post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

This is the sixth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

I’d been to Rome before, but I’d never seen Pope Innocent X. I went there first thing in the morning, then walked around the Vatican for a few hours thinking about what makes a good painting. I still think about this. Is it because I think it’s good, or because people say it is. Pope Innocent X was both. I stopped by The Calling of St. Matthew before looking at the wedding program and realizing I hadn’t packed enough outfits.

I finished the day shopping. I couldn’t find anything I liked. The next day, before my train, I bought an expensive but mediocre outfit and wore it to the rehearsal dinner.

These were the people I found interesting.

This is the fifth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

JULY 4, 2024. Sullivan County, New York.

JANUARY 4, 2014. Tijuana, Mexico.

DECEMBER 3, 2015. In Flight.

APRIL 2009. New York City.

This is PHOTO ARCHIVE. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

Tarik worked nights at the deli on my dad’s block. New York Village Deli, green awning, yellow light, between d.b.a. and a Chinese takeout, open 24 hours. He was from Egypt.

I would go before school for a breakfast sandwich on a croissant. As I got older I started showing up later and later at night. He was always smiling. Even at 3AM. I remember how amused he was the day I switched from a fake ID to a real one to buy beer.

I came in alone, with family, with friends, with a date, with a stranger. He saw every version of me. He knew what cheese I liked melted on a chicken cutlet. They closed about ten years after I took this photo. I don’t know where Tarik went. The deli is now a Popeyes.

This is the fourth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

This is the third post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

The first night was fun. The second night, Alex (fake name) wanted to stay in. I couldn’t really wrap my head around it. We had two nights in Tijuana, and the Hotel Nelson, at thirty-five dollars a night, was not a place you spent more time in than necessary. I was going out. Alex said fine, be back by midnight. I agreed to my curfew.

I walked down Avenida Revolución with my camera, in and out of dark bars. I had a couple drinks and talked to strangers. Midnight was approaching. Then I saw David. I introduced myself. He was skeptical. I told him I was visiting from New York and I liked his tattoos. I bought him a beer. He asked if I wanted to go to another bar. We went to a few. I took his picture and he talked. We were the same age. He had a kid coming soon and he was nervous. The money was faster in Tijuana. He was putting it together to bring back to San Diego. He told me this while we sat at slot machines. When it was time to go, he gave me a number so we could stay in touch. He wanted the pictures.

I walked into the Hotel Nelson at 3 a.m. with a big smile on my face. Alex was sitting in the lobby, wide awake, threw something at me, and went up to the room. The drive back to LA was somber. The next time I saw Alex, we broke up.

I reached the number once. A woman answered. She said she was David’s baby mama and he still hadn’t come back from Tijuana. The next time I called, it was disconnected. I never regretted those extra three hours.

This is the second post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

This is the first post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.